'Rebuild confidence among people': Union Min Naqvi ugres Cong not to politicise pandemic

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday alleged that Congress leaders are trying to politicise the coronavirus pandemic when they should rather "try to rebuild confidence among people". This comes after Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleged that the Centre had no solutions to address the economic problems arising out of the novel coronavirus crisis. Claiming that the spirit of federalism had been forgotten, she lamented that there was no indication of Parliament being summoned to discuss the current situation.

Speaking to ANI, Naqvi said that the Party is hoping to get a bill from Priyanka Gandhi for the pictures they clicked of the buses sent to Uttar Pradesh.

"We were hoping to get a bill from Priyanka Gandhi for the pictures they clicked of the buses sent to Uttar Pradesh. If you have done some good for the people, don't quantify it in terms of money. We are waiting for the day when they [Congress] would send a bill to Yogiji for those pictures," said Naqvi.

When asked about Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad's recent letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urging to push the redevelopment in Dharavi which has reported a large number of COVID-19 cases, and over 25,000 cases in Mumbai alone, Naqvi said one should try to understand ground realities rather than panic about the rising numbers.

"We should try to understand the ground reality, and not panic. Be it Maharashtra or any other state, we should exercise caution. There have been guidelines set out by MHA and the state government. This is not the time to pinpoint," said the minister.

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Congress president slams economic package

Currently, there are 1,18,447 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 48,534 patients have been discharged and 3,583 casualties have been reported. In her opening remarks, Sonia Gandhi pointed out that India was facing an economic crisis even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to demonetisation and the reportedly flawed GST. She reminded the Centre that the opposition had thrown its weight behind the Centre's decision to impose a nationwide lockdown despite the suddenness of the move and a lack of preparedness. Maintaining that imposition of successive lockdowns have yielded diminishing returns, she accused the Modi government of failing as far as the COVID-19 testing strategy and import of test kits are concerned.

Observing that the defining image of the pandemic has been lakhs of migrant workers marching on the road, the Congress president termed the announcement of the Rs.20 lakh crore economic package as a "cruel joke" on the country. She contended that the plight of the tenant and landless agricultural farmers, laid-off employees, shopkeepers and the self-employed individuals had been totally ignored. Gandhi added that the demand of the opposition for cash transfer to the poor and setting up of Wage Assistance and Wage Protection Funds had not been accepted. Additionally, she issued a condemnation of the Centre's move to repeal labour laws and allegedly hold a "grand clearance sale" of Public Sector Units. 

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(with inputs from ANI)